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ENGROSSED SUBSTITUTE SENATE BILL 6547
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AS RECOMMENDED BY CONFERENCE COMMITTEE
Passed Legislature - 1994 Regular Session
State of Washington 53rd Legislature 1994
Regular Session
By
Read first time 02/04/94.
Providing for
auditing of mental health systems.
AN ACT Relating to
mental health systems accountability; and adding new sections to chapter 71.24
RCW.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE
LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:
NEW SECTION. Sec.
1. The legislature finds
that the current complex set of rules and regulations, audited and administered
at multiple levels of the mental health system, focus primarily on the process
of providing mental health services and do not sufficiently address consumer
and system outcomes. To this extent, the legislature finds that the intent of
RCW 71.24.015 related to reduced administrative layering, duplication, and
reduced administrative costs need much more aggressive action.
NEW SECTION. Sec.
2. The department of social
and health services shall establish a single comprehensive and collaborative
project within regional support networks and with local mental health service
providers aimed at creating innovative and streamlined community mental health
service delivery systems, in order to carry out the purposes set forth in
section 1 of this act and to capture the diversity of the community mental
health service delivery system.
The project must
accomplish the following:
(1) Identification,
review, and cataloging of all rules, regulations, duplicative administrative
and monitoring functions, and other requirements that currently lead to
inefficiencies in the community mental health service delivery system and, if
possible, eliminate the requirements;
(2) The systematic and
incremental development of a single system of accountability for all
appropriated funds used to provide mental health services. Assessment must be
made regarding the feasibility of also including federal and local funds into
the single system of accountability;
(3) The elimination of
process regulations and related contract and reporting requirements. In place
of the regulations and requirements, a set of outcomes for mental health adult
and children clients according to chapter 71.24 RCW must be used to measure the
performance of mental health service providers and regional support networks.
Such outcomes shall focus on stabilizing out-of-home and hospital care,
increasing stable community living, increasing age-appropriate activities,
achieving family and consumer satisfaction with services, and system
efficiencies;
(4) Evaluation of the
feasibility of contractual agreements between the department of social and
health services and regional support networks and mental health service
providers that link financial incentives to the success or failure of mental
health service providers and regional support networks to meet outcomes
established for mental health service clients;
(5) The involvement of
mental health consumers and their representatives in the pilot projects.
Mental health consumers and their representatives will be involved in the
development of outcome standards for mental health clients and other related
aspects of the pilot projects; and
(6) An independent
evaluation component to measure the success of the projects.
NEW SECTION. Sec.
3. The project established
in section 2 of this act must be implemented by July 1, 1995, in at least two
regional support networks, with annual progress reports submitted to the
appropriate committees of the legislature beginning November 1, 1994, and in
all regional support networks state-wide with full implementation of the most
effective and efficient practices identified by the evaluation in section 2 of
this act no later than July 1, 1997. In addition, the department of social and
health services, the participating regional support networks, and the local
mental health service providers shall report to the appropriate policy and
fiscal committees of the legislature on the need for any changes in state
statute, rule, policy, or procedure, and any change in federal statute,
regulation, policy, or procedure to ensure the purposes specified in section 1
of this act are carried out.
NEW SECTION. Sec.
4. To carry out the purposes
specified in section 1 of this act, the department of social and health
services is encouraged to utilize its authority to immediately eliminate any
unnecessary rules, regulations, standards, or contracts, to immediately
eliminate duplication of audits or any other unnecessarily duplicated
functions, and to seek any waivers of federal or state rules or regulations
necessary to achieve the purpose of streamlining the mental health system and
infusing it with incentives that reward efficiency, positive outcomes for
clients, and quality services.
NEW SECTION. Sec.
5. Sections 1 through 4 of
this act are each added to chapter 71.24 RCW.
